Plane Passenger Screams Back at Noisy Child, Reigniting Discussion on Children Riding Planes

A video of a plane passenger screaming back at a crying child has reignited a long‑running argument over how children should behave on flights and how adults should respond to them. The clip, filmed more than a decade ago, is now circulating again and has split opinion between those who sympathise with exhausted parents and those who back frustrated fellow passengers.

A man named Mike Jacobs filmed the video on 23 March, 2013 during a flight from Scottsdale to New York, with a screaming child audible in the background as passengers boarded. Shared by the Daily Mail on social media, the footage shows Jacobs sitting in his seat as the child's cries grow louder, before an unseen man suddenly screams back in the same cabin. The child appears to calm down after the outburst, although neither the shouting passenger nor the child is visible in the clip.

Netizens Divided Over Who Is Right

Once the clip resurfaced online, comments quickly showed how divided people remain over noisy children on planes. Some users supported the passenger who screamed back, arguing that fellow travellers also have a right to a peaceful journey, especially on long flights.

Others pushed back and highlighted how stressful flying with young children can be, particularly in cramped cabins where parents may already feel judged. One commenter asked whether people understand that it is not easy to calm a child, while another pointed out that it is 'a baby, what can you do', stressing that crying is sometimes unavoidable.

Several self‑identified parents described how overwhelming it feels when a child cries on a plane despite their best efforts to soothe them. One said that parents in that position feel helpless and that the 'last thing' they need is anger and judgement from other passengers, arguing that 'a little patience and kindness' goes a long way.

At the same time, other commenters insisted that reacting sharply 'kinda helped', or complained that 'most of the time the parent does nothing', reflecting a belief that some adults do not even try to manage disruptive behaviour.

Wider Debate Over Children on Planes

The resurfaced clip has plugged into a broader conversation about whether parents should fly with very young children and what other passengers should reasonably tolerate. People magazine previously reported on a Reddit post by a business‑class traveller flying from Los Angeles to Paris who complained about a toddler who screamed almost constantly four hours into an overnight journey.

'Almost 4 hours into a flight from LAX to CDG and there's a toddler who has been screaming the entire time – it's now past 10pm LA time too,' said the Reddit user, whose rant was posted in the Delta forum. 'This isn't a newborn, it's a small child screaming at the top of their lungs and simply will not stop. Never felt like no kids in D1 before but these parents just have no control.'

The poster added that there was another toddler in the same business class as them and was of a similar age as the screaming child yet was 'quiet the entire time.' They said that they did not even notice there was another child until they went to the bathroom.

'Throw these plebs to premium economy. Joking but also kinda not,' the poster said.

In the comments of the post, many netizens rushed to the parents' defence. Some told the poster to wear their headphones if the screaming really bothered them and show some empathy to the parents. Another one told the poster that they are 'not entitled to force others to be quiet when flying on public transit,' to which someone responded that screaming children could not be blocked out by simply 'wearing earplugs or noise canceling headphones.'